Real Estate News

RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its February 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 308,524 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of…

RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its February 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 308,524 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of 2% from the previous month but still 6% above the level reported in February 2009. The report also shows one in every 418 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in February.

“The 6% year-over-year increase we saw in February was the smallest annual increase we’ve seen since January 2006, when we began calculating year-over-year increases, but it still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are in effect capping monthly foreclosure activity—albeit at a historically high level that will likely continue for an extended period.

“In addition, severe winter weather appears to have temporarily slowed the processing of foreclosure records in some Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.”

Foreclosure activity by type
Default notices (Notices of Default and Lis Pendens) were reported on a total of 106,208 U.S. properties during the month, an increase of 3% from the previous month but down 3% from February 2009. Default notices were down 25% from their peak of more than 142,000 in April 2009 but were still more than three times the number they were four years ago in February 2006.

Foreclosure auctions (Notices of Trustee’s Sale and Notices of Sheriff’s Sales) were scheduled for the first time on a total of 123,633 U.S. properties, a decrease of 1% from the previous month but still 16% higher than the level reported in February 2009. Scheduled auctions were down 14% from their peak of more than 144,000 in August 2009 but were also about three times higher than the number reported in February 2006.

Bank repossessions (REOs) were reported on a total of 78,683 U.S. properties during the month, a 10% decrease from the previous month but an increase of 6% from February 2009. Bank repossessions were down nearly 15% from their peak of more than 92,000 in December 2009 but were at nearly twice the level reported in February 2006.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates
Nevada foreclosure activity decreased nearly 7% from the previous month and was down 30% from February 2009, but the state’s foreclosure rate continued to rank highest in the nation for the 38th month in a row. One in every 102 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month—more than four times the national average.

Arizona and Florida documented nearly identical foreclosure rates, with one in every 163 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in both states. Despite a nearly 21% decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month, Arizona’s rate was statistically slightly higher than Florida’s rate and ranked second highest among the states.

California’s foreclosure rate ranked fourth highest among the states, with one in every 195 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, and Michigan’s foreclosure rate ranked fifth highest among the states, with one in every 226 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Utah (one in every 275 housing units), Idaho (one in 296), Illinois (one in 305), Georgia (one in 331) and Maryland (one in 407).

Six states account for more than 60% of national total
The six states with the most foreclosure activity accounted for 61% of the national total in February. California led the way, with 68,562 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month—down nearly 5% from the previous month and down 15% from February 2009.

Foreclosure activity in Florida increased nearly 15% from the previous month and was up more than 16% from February 2009. The state continued to post the nation’s second highest total, with 54,032 properties received a foreclosure filing during the month.

Increasing foreclosure activity boosted Michigan’s total to third highest among the states. A total of 20,028 Michigan properties received a foreclosure filing during the month—up nearly 14% from the previous month and up 59% from February 2009.

With 17,312 properties receiving a foreclosure filing, Illinois posted the fourth highest total, followed by Arizona, with 16,718 properties receiving a foreclosure filing, and Texas, with 12,638 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in February.

Other states with totals among the 10 highest in the country were Georgia (12,177), Ohio (11,286), Nevada (11,035), and Maryland (5,732).

Divergent trends in metro areas with top 10 foreclosure rates
Metro areas in the Sun Belt states of Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona continued to dominate the top 10 highest foreclosure rates among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, but activity trends in these areas varied considerably.

The Las Vegas metro area documented the highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 90 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, despite a 9% decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month.

Six of the other metro areas in the top 10—all in California or Arizona—also reported decreasing foreclosure activity from the previous month. The biggest monthly decrease among the top 10 was in the Phoenix metro area, where foreclosure activity dropped nearly 18%.

In contrast, the two Florida metro areas in the top 10 both posted substantial monthly increases in foreclosure activity. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area saw a 31% increase in foreclosure activity from the previous month, giving it the second highest metro foreclosure rate—one in every 92 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. An increase of nearly 66% in foreclosure activity from the previous month helped boost the foreclosure rate in Port St. Lucie to sixth highest.

For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.

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RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—It’s not likely anything could surprise us as much as the sheer magnitude of the slowdown we’re experiencing. Just be prepared for anything going forward.

If you made adjustments and found some stability in 2009, then you’re probably…

RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—It’s not likely anything could surprise us as much as the sheer magnitude of the slowdown we’re experiencing. Just be prepared for anything going forward.

If you made adjustments and found some stability in 2009, then you’re probably seeing—and can expect—more of the same this year. If you struggled last year, it will likely get harder unless you’re able to adapt to the market as it is. As you continue to power through and find new ways to work in a changed economy, stay aware of these challenges at the forefront and seek out resources that could positively affect your ability to serve your clients.

Short Sales
The U.S. Treasury Department’s new guidelines on short sales, announced in November, include better protection for you and the consumers involved. The policies represent a good step forward, and they’ll prove to be even more so in April when banks are required to have a compliant short sale plan in place to participate in the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program. The rules for participating banks include a 10-day window to accept or reject offers and a $1,000 incentive for each closed short sale. However, the most valuable currency for negotiating short sales will remain a competitive offer and a complete, well-organized short sale document packet for the servicer.

Loan Modifications
Unfortunately, loan modifications are being implemented at an extremely slow pace. The Obama Administration reports that in 2009 only 66,000 loans were permanently modified, a tiny portion of the more than 900,000 submitted for consideration. With 350,000 properties defaulting each month in the U.S., it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep people in their homes and their properties off the already flooded market. And if job growth occurs as promised in 2010, loan modifications may be viewed as a good fit for people who are getting back to work and have enough income to keep current on their mortgage.

Jumbo Loans
In recent months, the nearly dry jumbo loan faucet has been turned on—but only to a slow drip. Until banks open it wider, there’s little chance of making a dent in the roughly 40-month supply of inventory above $729,500. Qualified buyers capable of making a 20% down payment but unable to secure financing are sitting on the sidelines eager to join the game.

Don’t let the hard facts deter you. If anything, they should motivate you to push harder on behalf of your clients and yourself. As the industry continues to tackle these challenges throughout the year, move forward with your eyes wide open. Then you’re more likely to see a full recovery in your business long before the downturn is deemed officially behind us.

Margaret Kelly, CRB, is chief executive officer of RE/MAX International, Inc.

For more information, visit www.remax.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—(MCT)—U.S. consumers are starting to look like a frugal, debt-fearing lot as they pay down billions of dollars in credit card obligations. But an alarming trend is emerging: A small but growing number of people are skipping…

RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—(MCT)—U.S. consumers are starting to look like a frugal, debt-fearing lot as they pay down billions of dollars in credit card obligations. But an alarming trend is emerging: A small but growing number of people are skipping mortgage payments in favor of paying their credit card bills.

In an unprecedented shift, for some consumers having a credit card in good standing appears to have taken priority over having a roof over one’s head, experts said.

“This is not a carefree or nonchalant decision,” said Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy at TransUnion, the credit-tracking firm. “But it really is a clear illustration of the impact this recession has had on consumer preferences and behavior.”

While overall consumer debt rose unexpectedly in January 2010, consumers continued to pay off their credit cards that month—a record 16th straight month of lower credit card debt—with such debt dropping about $1.7 billion to $864.4 billion, according to the Federal Reserve.

But a small slice of those consumers are paying down credit cards to the detriment of their mortgage loan. The number of consumers delinquent on their mortgages but current on their credit cards rose to 6.6% in the third quarter of 2009 from 4.3% in the first quarter of 2008, according to a TransUnion study of 27 million anonymous consumer records pulled randomly from its database. Meanwhile, the portion of those who fell behind on credit card payments but paid their mortgage dropped to 3.6% from 4.1%.

TransUnion calls it the new “payment hierarchy” and first began noticing the shift in the fourth quarter of 2007. Experts thought the pattern would reverse itself once the worst of the recession passed, but TransUnion’s latest study confirms that the new behavior is becoming more prevalent and stretches across all income groups.

The trend is more common among consumers with the lowest credit scores. The percentage of consumers with low scores who paid credit cards rather than home loans shot up to 29% in the third quarter of 2009 from 19.1% in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to TransUnion. And in that low credit score group, consumers falling behind on credit cards but keeping pace with mortgage payments declined to 14.5% in 2009 from 18.1% in the first quarter of 2008.

But mortgage payment problems are moving up the credit score ladder, according to FICO, the credit score company. A recent FICO Score Trends report found that mortgage default risk for consumers with high scores now exceeds their credit card default risk, “reversing a long historic trend.”

In 2009, 0.3% of consumers with FICO scores between 760 and 850 fell into arrears on real estate loans, versus 0.1% who did on credit cards. In 2009, credit card accounts were 1.6 times more likely to become 90 days late than were mortgages, a steep drop from 2005 when credit card accounts were more than three times likely to fall behind 90 days, according to FICO.

While the numbers are small, the trend is disturbing, said Mark Greene, chief executive of FICO. “We’re identifying lending industry situations in FICO Score Trends that, to our knowledge, have never been seen before,” he said in the report. “Economic stability is creating unknown risk in lenders’ credit portfolios as well as counter intuitive trends in consumer behavior.”

You can blame those trends on a deep economic slump that’s pulled the rug out from under long-held jobs, home values and retirement accounts. And, in the wake of a new credit card law as banks tighten the screws on who gets credit and how much they get, some consumers are getting more protective of their credit cards. Plus, with the unemployment rate at a hefty 9.7%, people are worried about losing their job and perhaps needing their plastic to get by. On top of that, home values have taken a beating, and many homeowners now find themselves underwater on their home loans, meaning the mortgage outweighs the current value of the real estate. For some, holding on to the undervalued house suddenly doesn’t look like the smartest thing to do now.

“The combination of all these things makes some consumers think that paying money on the mortgage might not be in their best interest relative to the credit card,” said TransUnion’s Becker. “If I’m unemployed, I need to rely on the credit cards to get me through it till I get a job.” Another thing to consider, Becker said, is that you get kicked off your credit card far faster than you get kicked out of your home. It could take a year or longer to get thrown out on the streets; a bank can pull a credit card in default in 90 days, or even less if payments are habitually late.

The mortgage mess isn’t done yet, even as the economy hobbles its way into a recovery. Rachel Bell, FICO’s senior director of analytics, said she expects to see more consumers with high scores go into the home foreclosure process, particularly on their second homes, as interest rates rise on adjustable-rate mortgages. “If they have second homes, they’re more willing to walk away,” she said. “But even on first mortgages, there are these strategic default decisions we’re seeing where consumers are willing to walk away from a home. If they’re under water financially, they don’t see the benefit of holding on to it.”

Remember this, too: Credit performance generally lags economic performance. If the job market doesn’t improve soon and in a big way, the fallout will continue. Though the U.S. jobless rate held steady at 9.7% in February, the portion of workers who classify themselves as underemployed is inching up, according to a Gallup survey. Some 30 million Americans, or 19.8% of the work force, say they aren’t working to their full potential because they are either unemployed or working part time but wanting full-time jobs, according to Gallup. “Despite indications that the U.S. economy may be recovering, underemployment remains high,” Gallup said in its study.

Here’s the good news: This shift in payment hierarchy isn’t expected to turn into another “new normal.” It’s simply the effect of the cause of high unemployment and depreciating housing values. “When those two factors abate,” Becker said, “we will almost certainly see a return to the traditional payment-default hierarchy.”

(c) 2010, MarketWatch.com Inc.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—The median price for single-family homes in Connecticut climbed 6% in January 2010 compared to a year earlier, while sales increased for the fourth consecutive month, according to a report by The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial…

RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—The median price for single-family homes in Connecticut climbed 6% in January 2010 compared to a year earlier, while sales increased for the fourth consecutive month, according to a report by The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record.

The median price for single-family homes sold statewide in January rose 6.2% to $238,900 from $225,000 in January 2009. It was the second month in a row that median prices increased year-over-year and a sharp contrast to the start of last year when home prices were falling by 25-35%. There were 1,277 single-family home sales recorded in January, up 19.5% from 1,069 a year earlier.

“Connecticut’s housing market has been steadily improving over the last several months. January was the third straight month that sales increased year-over-year by double-digit percentages,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “Still, the big unknown is whether home sales will continue to increase when the home buyer tax credit expires and the Federal Reserve stops purchasing mortgage-backed securities.”

Fairfield County led the state with significant gains in sales volume and prices. The county’s home sales surged almost 60% in January to 352 from 222 a year earlier. The median home price shot up 30% to $485,000 from $373,500.

Hartford County was the only area of the state to see prices dip in January. The median home price slipped 4.7% to $200,000 from $209,900 in January 2009.

Like single-family home sales, condo sales transactions increased statewide in January. Sales jumped 12.5% to 395 from 351 in January 2009, marking four straight months of double-digit percentage increases in year-over-year sales. The median condo price in January, $185,000, was unchanged from a year earlier.

For more information, visit www.thewarrengroup.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—Citing concerns about increased mortgage fraud, four organizations representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers recently voiced their opposition to changes to an Obama administration program that will encourage short sales of homes. The coalition was led by…

RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—Citing concerns about increased mortgage fraud, four organizations representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers recently voiced their opposition to changes to an Obama administration program that will encourage short sales of homes. The coalition was led by the Appraisal Institute, one of the nation’s largest organizations of real estate appraisers.

A short sale occurs when a lender accepts less than the full unpaid balance of a loan rather than foreclosing on a defaulting owner’s property. The Obama administration’s program allows broker price opinions (BPOs) to be used to determine the value of properties to establish a minimum offer of a short sale. Broker price opinions are estimated values of a property as determined by a real estate broker; they are not the same as appraisals.

“We strongly believe continuing to allow broker price opinions in the property valuation component will not adequately protect the public interest (consumer, borrowers, etc.) or the interests of the various parties to the loan (lenders, loan servicers, etc.) and is likely to exacerbate mortgage fraud,” the appraiser organizations said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. It was signed by the Appraisal Institute, the American Society of Appraisers, the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers.

“We urge the Department to reestablish independence in the valuation process to protect the safety and soundness of financial institutions, improve transparency and safeguard the public trust,” the appraiser organizations’ letter said, later adding: “We urge the Administration to revise the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) guidelines to prohibit the use of BPOs for property valuation requirements involving foreclosure alternatives, including short sales.”

The appraiser organizations’ letter notes that law enforcement officials have highlighted loan modification fraud – including fraud involving short sales – as a new form of mortgage fraud. “We believe that such conflicts can and should be mitigated by implementing basic requirements reestablishing independence and competency in the valuation process,” the letter said.

Changes to expand the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, set to take effect April 5, 2010, would allow defaulting owners to sell their homes for less than they owe and would provide them $1,500 in relocation assistance, according to The New York Times.

The Times referred to the plan as “one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions,” noting that 5 million households are behind on their mortgages and risk foreclosure. The government’s $75 billion mortgage modification plan reportedly has helped few of them.

For more information, visit www.appraisalinstitute.org.

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